How to Install Door Knobs and Door Pulls To Your Kitchen Cabinet

There are quite a number of places you can purchase your door knobs and door pulls from the internet and usually it is quite easy to choose. Changing your kitchen door knobs and door pull for your existing kitchen cabinet or for your newly installed kitchen it is not a very difficult task. I have come up with a just a few simple steps to guide you through the whole process and to achieve flawless results on every door and drawer.
• Installing cabinet door knobs and pull is a relatively simple process. All you need are some tools and some patience, and you can transform your kitchen cabinets from functional to fabulous. You will need:
1. a drill with a 3/16” drill bit (in most cases)
2. leveler
3. marker
4. masking tape
5. A nail or center punch for making an impression to help you to drill accurately.
6. Phillips screwdriver or straight head, depending on the type of screws you are using.
• Installing Knobs are easier than handles because they only require one screw instead of two. For the easiest type of installation application, look for knobs that are already pre-attached with screws.

• If you are planning to replace cabinet handles or pulls, you must make sure that your new knobs and pulls has the same drill centers as your existing model. Otherwise, you have to either choose a hardware that will be able to cover your existing hole (some come with backplate) or you have patched it up yourself.

• To determine the drill center of your old cabinet hardware, measure the distance between the two drill holes (to get accurate measurement reading, uninstall one of your old hardware). Before you start drilling, hold your new hardware against the marked door or drawer front to make sure that the new knobs or pull screws position are align.

• In order to prevent splitting of your solid wood cabinetry and drawers, remember install all cabinet hardware more than 1” from the cabinet’s edge.

• For contemporary flat panel doors, knobs should be installed 1-1/2”-2” from the open corner of the cabinet.

• For contemporary flat panel doors, horizontal pulls should be installed 2”-4” from the bottom of the cabinet and 2” from the open edge of the cabinet.

• You might required different length of screws for your kitchen cabinet doors and drawers so make sure you check it before ordering your new hardware. If cabinet doors thickness is ¾” , which will accommodate the hardware’s standard 1” screw. Drawers with applied faces, however, may be thicker, and will likely require longer screws. If you are not sure you can always request for a longer screws and cut it yourself (you must chamfer the screws tip with a grinder after you cut it).

Cork Flooring for Your Kitchen

Cork has everything going for it. It is eco-friendly and non-slip. It allows a floor to ‘breathe’ and doesn’t develop mould if it gets damp. It is also a very good sound and heat insulator. If you drop a dish on it, the dish will not break, but will leave a small dent. Within a few hours the dent vanishes due to its incredible resiliency. Cork is something worth bearing in mind if you live in an upper-floor apartment. Most importantly, following the revival of seventies style, cork tiles are now firmly back in fashion.

Available in the tile or plank form, cork is fairly straight forward to lay. It can be easily cut and glued on top of hardboard or plywood, but make sure the surface beneath coat bare tiles with three or four coat of sealant to keep them looking their best and to give extra water-resistance. To maintain your green credentials, stick to deep brown but, if you are not into the natural look, colored cork tiles are now also easy to find.

Cork flooring is also wonderful for homes with family members with allergies. It is hypoallergenic and does not absorb dust or mites, letting you mop the floor clean to remove the allergens. This makes it an ideal flooring for people with allergies, as the dust will not cause them problems.

Cork flooring is great for any kitchen because of the multitude of design choices that your can choose from. Simple, country design blends just as easily as sleek, modern design does. The wide array of colors and shades of light and dark really open up all avenues for decorating. You can get more advice and quote on cork flooring from your local contractor.

Rubber Flooring For Your Kitchen

Rubber floors have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Synthetic rubber is available in a fantastic range of colors and textures and flexible rubber tiles. Rubber flooring is its cushioning effect which dissipates impact energy and thus reduces strain on joints and muscles. This then helps to provide comfort underfoot and prevent fatigue. This makes it an ideal flooring for situations where people will be standing for long periods. This cushioning comes from rubber’s highly-elastic polymer chains arranged in a unique cross-linked network, which enables them to act like miniature springs beneath your feet and gives rubber some of its great resilience under heavy weights.

Another advantage of a rubber flooring is hygienic and safe. With the smoother surface it does not easily harbor pet hairs, dust mites and other allergens. Rubber flooring also give extremely high surface traction, making rubber flooring an ideal anti-slip floor covering in both work and home environments.

To lay rubber flooring first you need to make sure the floor beneath is dry and flat. Once a tiled rubber floor has been finished and sealed with a top coat of matt or gloss sealer, it only needs a wipe with soapy water to keep it clean. While a mat finish looks more sophisticated and modern, bar in mind that it will show the dirt more readily. Rubber, particularly if it’s a light color can stain. Poured rubber floors have a more durable and uniform finish but installation can be difficult and the costs are higher.

Vinyl Flooring For Your Kitchen

In contrast to Lino, Vinyl is completely synthetic but it is also highly practical, particularly I the kitchen. It is flexible, waterproof, and reasonable affordable and easy to keep clean. It also comes in a host of colors and patterns. The most popular contemporary vinyl are those which mimic natural flooring materials – wood, stone, marble, for example or even glass and steel. These can be expensive but need no sealers and little upkeep, so after cost are low. Vinyl does not wear particularly well, however and can be damaged by heels or heavy item drag on the surface.

Durability & Life Expectancy
A properly installed and maintained, high quality vinyl floor can last 20 to 30 years. Recent improvements in wear layers have enhanced vinyl's resistance to stains, scratches, moisture and fading. Because the 12' width allows for fewer or even no seams, vinyl floors reduce or eliminate places where dirt or moisture can accumulate. Vinyl's surface is waterproof for worry-free living, even when spills are not wiped up immediately. Because of all of these benefits, vinyl sheet is one of the best choices for high traffic areas, or households with active children or pets. You can get a reliable flooring contractor here.
Keep in mind:
* Thinner vinyl is more susceptible to gouging and other durability problems.
* Thicker vinyl is a better choice for performance in high-traffic areas.

Typical Warranties
Five to 20 year range, depending on quality, against rips tear, gouges and stains. Better quality floors carry a lifetime warranty on manufacturing defects and wear-through. Lower end products may warrant for fewer years and/or just certain aspects.

Care & Maintenance
The original and still the best, easy care resilient flooring! Vinyl never needs waxing, buffing or polishing. Simply sweep as needed and mop occasionally with a vinyl floor cleaner. Liquids pool on the surface, making clean-up easy. Because vinyl is waterproof and stain resistant, clean-ups can wait until you're ready to mop them up.

Linoleum Flooring for Kitchen

Made of powdered cork and linseed oil, Lino is an entirely natural product that improves with age. It is anti-static and anti-bacterial - hence it is use in hospital corridors. While colors for Lino used to be fairly limited, there is a wide choice today thanks to huge advances in its production. You can choose from hundreds of tones and finishes and ca also find patterned Lino or get a design created specially for you, though this will be expensive. Available in sheet or in tile form, Lino can be laid by an amateur but you must make sure that your sub-floor is in good condition because Lino can be damaged by damp. If you have chosen a design with complex inlaid patterns, however an expert should be called in to lay it.

Durability & Life Expectancy
Linoleum can last more than 40 years if installed and maintained correctly. Proper maintenance includes polishing your floor. Linoleum with a permanently bonded, high performance coating will resist stains, scratches and clean as easily as a vinyl sheet floor. If the linoleum does not have this manufacturer’s protection, it will need a regular maintenance program that includes polishing, stripping and reapplying of polish to protect the floor’s surface.

One of linoleum's most distinctive qualities is that the entire thickness of the wear layer (everything except the jute backing) is homogeneous. This means the color and pattern extend throughout the entire floor surface. So, if linoleum wears down with use, or is chipped or gouged, the gorgeous colors and pattern will still remain. That said, linoleum is very resistant to gouging and scratching, and stands up to heavy traffic. That's why linoleum is as popular in non-residential buildings as it is in today's home.

Keep In Mind:
* Linoleum’s natural ingredients are susceptible to damage if not protected by either a manufacturer’s bonded topcoat, or polish applied after installation.
* Like hardwood, linoleum will suffer permanent damage if it is exposed to standing water, continuous moisture, or a moist subfloor.

Care & Maintenance
Linoleum should be swept regularly to remove dirt, and mopped as needed with a neutral pH floor cleaner recommended by the manufacturer. Some types of household cleaners will damage linoleum, so it's imperative to use a cleaner recommended specifically for linoleum flooring.

Polished linoleum floors need more maintenance than floors that have a manufacturer’s bonded protective coating. Maintenance includes occasional stripping and repolishing—multiple times per year in high traffic rooms---once every other year in low traffic rooms. You’ll know when it’s time to polish your floor when it begins to look dull, even after mopping.

Apply the polish recommended by the manufacturer. You'll know it's time to polish your floor when it begins to look dull, even after mopping. Floors in high-traffic rooms might need polishing twice a year; low-traffic rooms might need polish once a year or every other year. Old polish layers need to be stripped before new polish is applied because the old polish loses its protective qualities.

Keep In Mind:
* Although a manufacturer’s bonded coating and/or your own polishing protects the floor’s surface, never use a harsh alkalis or high pH products such as ammonia to clean linoleum.
* Natural linoleum needs to be protected by polish. The polish needs to be stripped and reapplied over the lifetime of the floor.